Tobacco Protest

The Tobacco Protest was a Shi'a revolt in Iran against an 1890 tobacco concession granted by the Shah to Great Britain. The protest was held by Tehran merchants in solidarity with the clerics. It climaxed in a widely obeyed December 1891 edict (misunderstood as a fatwa) against tobacco use supposedly issued by Grand Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi.

Beginning in the 19th century, the Qajar dynasty found itself in a precarious situation due to an increasing foreign presence within Iran. Reeling from devastating losses against the Russian Empire in 1813 and 1828 as well as the British Empire in 1857, not only was the Qajar government forced to grant countless concessions to these foreign powers, but Iranian bazaaris (merchants) were left in a highly vulnerable position as they couldn’t compete with the numerous economic advantages gained by merchants from Europe. According to the accounts of foreigners living in Iran at the time, the Qajar dynasty was highly unpopular among the populace and was perceived as having little concern for the welfare of its residents. Later accounts by British eyewitnesses suggest that the reason why the dynasty had not been overthrown sooner in the face of widespread discontent was due to British and Russian intervention that essentially propped up the shah.

In 1872, Nasir al-Din Shah negotiated a concession with Baron Julius de Reuter, a British citizen, granting him control over Persian roads, telegraphs, mills, factories, extraction of resources, and other public works in exchange for a stipulated sum for five years and 60% of all the net revenue for 20 years. The Reuter concession was met with not only domestic outrage in the form of local protests but the Russian government was also hostile towards the concession as well. Under immense pressure, Nasir al-Din Shah consequently canceled the agreement despite his deteriorating financial situation. While the concession lasted for approximately a year, the entire debacle set the foundation for the revolts against the tobacco concession in 1890 as it demonstrated that any attempt by a foreign power to infringe upon Iranian sovereignty would infuriate the local population as well as rival European powers, in this case the Russian government, who had their own interests in the region.

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